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Steelers Traveling On Game Day

The Pittsburgh Steelers will fly to New Jersey only hours before playing the Giants on Sunday because of a travel disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The Steelers' hotel in Jersey City still doesn't have power since the superstorm hit the East Coast, and the team can't find another hotel to accommodate the organization in the area.

The Steelers now will fly into Newark, N.J., on Sunday morning, have a pregame meal at a hotel near the airport and bus to the stadium, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kickoff against the defending Super Bowl champions is 4:25 p.m.
The Steelers will charter home later Sunday night.

Now I'm Concerned About The Giants

Apparently there's no hotels in NY/NJ for the Steelers to stay there Saturday night. So they'll be making the trip to NY on Sunday for the game.

I'm not sure I like the sounds of this. Travel is taxing. I'm not sure I like making the players wake up the day of the game earlier than normal. Break some typical game day habits. Get them out of their comfort zone/routine.

Sounds like it could be a recipe for disaster.

Maybe the NY players will be consumed with family/friend issues on the homefront and this will even out?

They should be concerned. The Giants are the SB champs and have found ways to win in tough circumstances this year. I would argue that they have one of the best organizations in the NFL. Look for them to play inspired ball- much better than what they were against the Cowboys.

I'm certainly glad now that the game was scheduled for 4:25 instead of 1:00. Also, consider that the actual flight time from Pittsburgh Airport to the Newark Airport is 37 minutes in the air (and the team's chartered flight isn't subject to all the same hassles that us common folk have to deal with flying coach on Delta or whatnot). The team will likely spend more time on busses from their Pittsburgh hotel to the Pittsburgh airport and from the Newark airport to the Meadowlands complex than they will spend in the air on Sunday morning.

Teams traveling to the away stadium in the NFL are, by rule, supposed to arrive at least the day prior to the game This Sunday the Steelers will be showing up just mere hours before game time. The Steelers were meant to stay at a hotel in Jersey the night prior and then head to MetLife Stadium. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many parts of New Jersey and NYC are just devastated. The team has decided, and subsequently granted by the NFL, to not burden those who are trying to recover from the hurricane and spend the night in the ‘Burgh before heading to Jersey. The Steelers will arrive in time to have a pre-game meal and then off to warmups at MetLife.

Certainly a good will move by the Steelers and the NFL by allowing them to remain in Pittsburgh only mere hours before kickoff. However, will this hurt the team in any way – whether it be physical, mental or emotional preparedness?

I not as concerned about this as some people are. The players will sleep in familiar surroundings in an area where there was minimal impact from the hurricane. As it has been said, the flight to NY is short. There won't be time for players to get drowsy or too cramped from sitting. The players from NY might have a greater impact living in conditions where power outages are rampant and Sandy created havoc.